12 years in prison for Russia "bragging" about raising capital for big business

On October 31, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Thi Nga (born in 1976), residing on Yen Xuan Street, Vinh City, Nghe An, for the crime of "Abuse of trust to appropriate property".

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province, between August 2008 and October 2010, using sweet words and her connections, Nga "bragged" that she needed money to do business in phone SIM cards.

Defendant Nguyen Thi Nga. Photo: Quynh An

For that reason, Nguyen Thi Nga borrowed money and appropriated 400 million VND from Mr. Phan Bui N. (residing on Phan Boi Chau Street, Vinh City), 100 million VND from Ms. Nguyen Thi Ng. (residing in Nghi Hoa Ward, Cua Lo Town), 640 million VND from Ms. Ho Thi L. (residing in Hung Loc Commune, Vinh City), and 135 million VND from Ms. Ho Thi Luong D. (residing on Phan Huy Chu Street, Vinh City).

Nga's actions have appropriated 1 billion 175 million VND from 4 victims. Nguyen Thi Nga used all of that money to pay off debts and personal expenses.

By the end of 2010, knowing that he was unable to pay his debtors, Nga sought to flee elsewhere to avoid legal action.

Upon discovering the incident, the people reported it to Vinh City Police. On May 25, 2011, Vinh City Police initiated a criminal case, prosecuted Nga and banned her from leaving her place of residence.

The panel of judges determined that Nguyen Thi Nga’s actions were dangerous to society and needed to be strictly punished by law. However, based on mitigating circumstances such as the defendant’s honest confession, the panel sentenced Nguyen Thi Nga to 12 years in prison for “fraudulent appropriation of property”. Regarding civil matters, the panel of judges ordered Nguyen Thi Nga to compensate the victims with VND1 billion 175 million.